Krawcheck seen bidding final adieu to Wall Street

After her firing Tuesday from Bank of Americas wealth management unit, its likely the 46-year-old executive will jump to a money-management firm or private equity firm, said recruiters, industry executives and people who know her personally.Krawcheck has been approached by a number of money management firms, and is weighing some opportunities, said one person who claimed to be familiar with her thoughts.Krawcheck declined to comment.Given her abrupt firing this week and a surprise push out the door of Citigroup Inc almost three years earlier after serving as chief financial officer and global wealth management head, its not surprising Krawcheck might leave the sell side of the investment business, several observers said.The end of her tenure at two big but troubled banks may reflect personal tensions with bosses but her charm and the bottom-line success she enjoyed at both companies should hold her in good stead on a job search, they added.Her marquee name and presence would be a help to a fund company that uses big brokerage firms to distribute its investment products, said Mark Elzweig, a New York-based recruiter of retail brokers.FAST CLIMB UPKrawcheck began her career as a research analyst at Salomon Brothers, was briefly a corporate finance associate at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrrete, and climbed the commercial banking research ladder at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co to become chief executive of the vaunted research firm before being wooed by Citigroup.Recruiters without specific knowledge of her plans said that AllianceBernstein L.P. -- the current iteration of the firm where she built her reputation -- and Legg Mason Inc are strong possibilities for Krawcheck. Both have strong reputations but have been struggling with investment performance in recent years and suffering from client withdrawals.Krawchecks experience as head of Citigroups Smith Barney and of Bank of Americas Merrill Lynch gives her a good base to argue that she has strong insight into how brokers raise money from investors and how they negotiate with fund companies. The downside, recruiters said, is that she has never run a pure asset management operation.Taking her on at the top would be a significant risk, one recruiter said.John Meyers, a spokesman at AllianceBernstein, declined to comment. Mary Athridge, a spokeswoman at Legg Mason, said the firm doesnt comment on speculation.Neither company is known to be looking for replacements for their top executives.Krawcheck has certainly caught the attention of powerful Wall Street executives. In the fall of 2002, Sanford Sandy Weill recruited her as chief executive of Citi Smith Barney with the charge of restoring the units reputation after a scandal over biased stock research.In 2004, she was promoted to chief financial officer and head of strategy at the banking giant. She had problems, however, with Vikram Pandit, whoarrived at Citigroup in December 2007 to replace Weil. Pandit and Krawcheck butted heads on key issues, including how to reimburse clients who bought hedge funds that turned out to be toxic and auction-rate securities that couldnt be sold at any auction.